"Xun Niu came from the Demon Realm! An ancient fierce beast." "A Tenth Tier ancient fierce beast? Heavens, I heard that the most terrifying Demon Race cultivator in the East Sea is only Tenth Tier, already a great leader among them. A Thirteenth Tier fierce beast, unheard of!"
"Also, since Xun Niu is from the Demon Realm, where exactly is the Demon Realm? How come we've never heard of it?"
The high-ranking strongmen of the various tribes listened to Grand Shaman Wu Yun's account of the mysterious battle drum, and they all gasped in low voices, murmuring with looks of shock and bewilderment.
The Demon Realm, to them, was an utterly unfamiliar location. Several among this group of high-ranking strongmen were tribal great chiefs. They knew of the East Sea islands where the Immortals resided, knew of the hidden islands inhabited by surrounding East Sea tribes, and knew that traveling further east from the East Sea islands led to a Sea of Blood.
They had even heard whispers of a massive stronghold deep within that Sea of Blood, a place where Demon Race cultivators congregated—Demon Blood City. The sheer scale of this city was in no way inferior to the Immortal Palace City of the Immortals.
But the Demon Realm? They had absolutely never encountered the name.
"Grand Shaman, where did you learn of the existence of a Demon Realm?" Liang Gong inquired.
"Legends of the Demon Realm originated from Immortal records. Later, the Shaman Tribe read the Immortal biographies, learned of these matters, and recorded them in some ancient shamanic texts. To be honest, perhaps no one in the East Sea knows the location of the Demon Realm; even I do not know where it lies.
Very well, the greatest secret within the main hall of this sacred temple is this Xun Niu Drum and the remains of that Poison Flood Dragon. Unfortunately, these two items are of little use to our tribal strongmen, so there is no need to dwell on them.
Everyone, follow me to the eight subsidiary halls of the sacred temple. That is where the true hidden base of our Shaman Tribe in the Langya Secret Realm lies. Inside, there are many things that will benefit our tribe."
After Wu Yun finished speaking, he led Wu Yi Qing, Yan Xing, Jing Hun, Liang Gong, and the other tribal chiefs and strongmen out of the main hall, heading toward the other subsidiary halls of the ancient temple.
"Eight subsidiary halls? A hidden base? What exactly has your Shaman Tribe been doing here?" Liang Gong was momentarily stunned, following closely behind Wu Yun, asking casually.
"The eight subsidiary halls are: the Weapon Forging Hall, the Alchemy Hall, the Shamanism Hall, and the Spirit Beast Hall. They contain a vast quantity of weapons, elixirs, and shamanic arts used by our strongmen. These were all accumulated through immense effort and sacrifice by our Shaman Tribe."
Since Grand Shaman Wu Yun intended to show them, he naturally did not conceal anything.
"Why are the names of these halls so similar to the Immortals' Artifact Hall, Alchemy Hall, Sorcery Hall, and Beast Station Hall?" Liang Gong frowned.
"Naturally, they are similar. Many practices of our East Sea tribes were learned from the Immortals and the Demon Race. If our East Sea tribes are to contend with the Immortals and the Demon Race, we must first master their methods of artifact forging, alchemy, sorcery, beast taming, and so forth.
We cannot learn the high-level Immortal techniques. Most of our tribe's shamanic arts were adapted and improved from the Demon Race's demonic arts, evolving into shamanism.
Our methods for alchemy, artifact forging, and beast taming were largely learned from the Immortals. However, Immortal artifacts are fundamentally different from the weapons our tribe uses. Immortal artifacts require spiritual resonance and are controlled by Mana. Our tribe controls weapons using divine power; thus, the weapons must be exceptionally resilient, unable to be shattered by divine might.
The spiritual elixirs required by the Immortals are completely different from the elixirs used by the Earth Tribe to boost divine power. The most common, the Blood Spirit Pill, which enhances divine power, was developed by our Shaman Tribe.
The Black Iron weapons you wield, your mounts, the spirit beasts, the elixirs that increase divine power—which one was not developed by our Shaman Tribe!
In many aspects pertaining to the artifacts and techniques of the Immortals and the Demon Race, we must adapt and improve things ourselves. The reason the Shaman Tribe established this secret sacred temple within the Langya Secret Realm is precisely for the research and development of these items."
Grand Shaman Wu Yun's expression grew solemn. "Every five hundred years, the Shaman Tribe dispatches a group of shamans into the Langya Secret Realm; they remain within this sacred temple, dedicating themselves to researching these matters, and never leave again. This time, it will be myself and ten shamans who remain here. After you take the items from the eight subsidiary halls, Wu Yi Qing will lead you out of this sacred temple. I will not leave with you."
The strongmen of all the tribes were jolted, unable not to feel a surge of respect for the old shaman whose expression was always shadowed.
In this isolated place, Wu Yun and the ten shamans were dedicating the remainder of their lives to researching weapons, elixirs, and shamanic arts. Since the Langya Secret Realm only reopens every five hundred years, this meant their short lifespans would never allow them to leave the realm again; they would simply be interred in the deepest parts of the East Sea floor.
This self-sacrifice was profound enough to stir them deeply.
They all knew that the vast majority of weapons and elixirs used by the East Sea tribes had been developed by the Shaman Tribe and then passed on to the various major tribes. But only today did they realize the development base of the Shaman Tribe was in such a top-secret location.
Liang Gong remained silent for a long moment, then spoke softly, "The sacrifices and contributions of the Shaman Tribe will be indelibly etched into the memory of the other nine major tribes of the East Sea. In the future, no matter who governs the East Sea tribes, the wisest Shaman Tribe will forever maintain an independent and honored status among the great tribes of the East Sea."
Grand Shaman Wu Yun glanced at Liang Gong, a sharp glint flashing through his cold eyes. He recognized Liang Gong's ambition to unite the East Sea tribes, yet said nothing.
Wu Yun soon led the tribal strongmen to the Weapon Forging Hall, one of the eight subsidiary halls of the ancient temple.
He pointed to the neatly arranged counters inside the hall, where rows of finely crafted weapons of varying lengths lay displayed, and said,
"The weapons here were all forged by the previous generation of shamans five hundred years ago within these eight subsidiary halls. You may take them all! The power of these weapons is entirely comparable to the magical artifacts of cultivators."
"Furthermore, hand over the sacred materials you hunted from demon beasts and gathered within the Langya Secret Realm to me for refining elixirs. In five hundred years, you can send your kin into the Langya Secret Realm again to collect the finished elixirs."
The strongmen promptly brought forth the sacred materials they had obtained from the Langya Secret Realm and handed them to Wu Yun.
"Besides the Shaman Tribe shamans, each tribe should leave a few high-ranking strongmen here to assist the Grand Shaman in forging weapons and refining elixirs. They are the most loyal strongmen of their tribes and will follow the Grand Shaman's arrangements."
Yan Xing paused, then said, "Yes, that is acceptable."
Wu Yun nodded coldly.
Whoosh, whir...!
Dozens of streaks of artifact light flew across the vast lake surface, landing before the bronze main gate of the ancient temple. The leading figure was none other than Yu Weifeng, a Golden Core cultivator from the Heavenly Dao Alliance.
Upon arriving before the ancient temple, Yu Weifeng clearly sensed the fierce, imposing aura emanating from within, causing him to inwardly startle.
"The killing intent within this ancient temple is so intense; there must be something unusual. Fellow Daoists, proceed with caution."
He led a group of Heavenly Dao Alliance Golden Core cultivators quickly to the front of the ancient temple.
Suddenly, the ancient temple blazed with light, shooting out a stream of blue radiance. A shimmering, wave-like screen of light sealed the bronze doors, blocking the Golden Core cultivators outside.
"This is the water-elemental spell, 'Azure Water Heavenly Curtain.' It can withstand the attack of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. However, there is no way it can hold back a group of dozens of us Golden Core cultivators. Fellow Daoists, let us strike together to shatter it."
Yu Weifeng held no regard for the light screen, coldly snorting before decisively tossing out a peak-grade flying sword, attacking the screen.
"Break!"
Dozens of flying swords bombarded the light screen simultaneously. "Rumble!" How could the blue light screen withstand such a furious assault? It rapidly dimmed, finally shattering with a distinct crash.
Having forcibly broken through the light screen, Yu Weifeng released a low-tier spirit mouse from his spirit pouch. The mouse flashed and darted into the antechamber of the ancient temple. After confirming there was no danger, Yu Weifeng and the assembled Heavenly Dao Alliance Golden Core cultivators swiftly rushed into the ancient temple.
"Let's go in," Ye Qin said calmly to Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaozhang, and the others, seeing that the Golden Core cultivators had already entered. He then stepped into the ancient temple. Zhou Yao, Liao Xiaozhang, Jin Zhongshan, Pan Shuang, and others followed close behind.
The group of Golden Core cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Alliance who remained outside the hall hesitated, glancing at each other before also entering the ancient temple. After all, their side had a significant number of people; even if they had to compete with the Heavenly Dao Alliance cultivators for treasures inside, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
"Grand Shaman, those Immortals have broken the formation and stormed in! There are more of them than us—what should we do?!" A high-ranking Earth Tribe strongman left guarding the main hall rushed from the main hall into the rear hall when he saw the cultivators enter, loudly reporting to Grand Shaman Wu Yun with a panicked expression.
Wu Yun, who was distributing weapons to the various tribes, couldn't help but darken his expression, coldly scoffing, "Why panic? That was just a minor defensive formation, meant to prevent demon beasts from the Langya Secret Realm from intruding into the temple. The true grand formation is within the main hall—it is the 'Heaven and Earth Marvelous Gate Formation,' the restriction formation laid down by True Person Huang Feng back then, possessing infinite power. However, that formation requires someone to preside over it to be activated."
Grand Shaman Wu Yun reprimanded them sharply with a gloomy face, then turned toward the Saintess Wu Yi Qing, his demeanor becoming more respectful, saying deferentially, "Saintess, please go and preside over it. Confine all the Immortals who broke into the main hall within the grand formation."
"A shaman can control an Immortal formation?" Wu Yi Qing asked, puzzled.
"The formations in this sacred temple were personally altered by True Person Huang Feng and Saintess Wu Qinghui, allowing shamans to manipulate them through shamanic arts. These formations within the temple were designed specifically for shamans," Wu Yun explained.
"Very well!" Wu Yi Qing hesitated briefly, then gracefully headed toward the main hall.
"Can the Saintess manage alone?" Yan Xing expressed some worry.
"No problem. The power of the 'Heaven and Earth Marvelous Gate Formation' cannot be broken by Golden Core Immortals; it can trap even Nascent Soul Immortals. Many Immortals have broken into this sacred temple before, but they were all trapped and killed within this restrictive grand formation; none have ever escaped. Having the Saintess operate the grand formation alone is sufficient. She has killed too little; it is time for her to taste some bloodshed," Grand Shaman Wu Yun said, completely confident in the sacred temple's defenses, his expression unreadable. "Fellows, follow me to the other Alchemy Hall. There are some elixirs refined by the shamans five hundred years ago there, perhaps some high-grade ones. By the time we retrieve the items from all the subsidiary halls, those Immortals will already be trapped to death within the temple."